Examiner
Pre-orders for the Wii U sold out quickly and are currently only available as some store-specific bundles for the Basic model. A pair of game industry analysts provided comments Friday on how many Wii Us they expect to be available at launch and how Nintendo is managing the supply chain.
"Nintendo tends to manage the distribution channel to generate some sort of perception that its [system] is in demand," Colin Sebastian of R.W. Baird told CNBC. "I think seeing these sellouts on some of the websites is not a negative indication. It's either neutral or slightly positive, but it's not conclusive."
Meanwhile, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities estimates that Nintendo allocated only 300,000 to 400,000 Wii U consoles for pre-orders and may have not even begun mass manufacturing yet.
"We know no one has leaked any pictures of the Wii U supply line," Pachter said. "Those always leak. Someone always sneaks a camera into the facility. The fact that we haven't seen pictures means manufacturing hasn't started as of this week. So, if they're starting manufacturing in late September, the most they can commit to is 1.5 million units per month."
That leaves open the question of when Nintendo will start manufacturing the new console and how many will be available in stores when the Wii U launches in North America on November 18, Europe on November 30 and Japan on December 7.
The perception of scarcity and high demand with plentiful supplies is what Nintendo is shooting for though, according to Sebastian.
"What's most important for Nintendo is what happens at launch," says Sebastian. "You want a combination of as many units as possible, that are also perceived to be in short supply, but you don't want to under supply the market so people go out and by something else."
http://www.examiner.com/article/analysts-300k-to-400k-wii-us-for-pre-order-nintendo-managing-supply-chain